Inclined hinge



May 21, 1940. E. E. HOWE INCLINED HINGE Filed Jan. 9, 1939 IIIVVENTORJ Z2214 2.76m

ATTORNEY.

Patented m 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Earl E l Iowe, llloyfl sf, Mich. Application January 9, 1939, Serial No. 249,866

lclaims.

This invention relates to a concealed door hinge particularly adapted for swingably supporting a door from a curved wall, as for example, the support of an entrance door of an automobile which j the concealed type which is susceptible to easy alinement for properlyfltting' the door to its frame, which will wlthstandsevere uses such as door slamming, closing of the door by pushing against one corner and the imposition of undue weight as may be caused by a child riding thereon, and'which also is economical to manufacture.

In an automobile body having upwardly converging sidewalls the door frame is, of course,

inclined with the result that assembly of a hinge therein ordi'narily disposes the hinge pin at an angle to'the'vertical. The angularity of the hinge such that any point on the door swings 'throughjan are which is inclined to the horizontal and inasmuch as the angle is such that gravity will cause'the door to swing to its closed position, the of the hinge pin is termed the tumble-in angle; The excessive tumble-in angle present in conjunction with the inclined walls of the later automobile body designs is undesirable in the respect that the door closes too rapidly and unless held may strike a person entering the automobile or who has completed his entrance except as iohis foot and ankle. From the standpoint of appearance it is undesirable that the arc of swinging movement oi the door should depart too great a degree from a horisontal plane. Accordingly it is an important object of this invention to provide a concealed hinge which permits the door to swing substantiallyparalleltotheground,orinasubstantially horizontal are even in the presence of an extreme tumble-in angle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a concealed hinge for supporting an automobile door in such manner that gravity biases closing movement thereof. This feature is particularly desirable in conjunction with the left hand doors of anautomobile in order thatsuch doors will 5 not remain open while the automobile is parked on a highway, as such doors in an open position constitute a hazard to traillc on the highway.

Another object is to provide a concealed hinge for supporting a curved door for swinging movement about an axis which is disposed externally 5 of the automobile body at both the top and the bottom of the door frame, and which passes through the body between the top and bottom of the frame. The purpose of the hinge in this respect is to avoid the necessity of comparatively l0 long, outwardly projecting hinge elements, such and whose axis of pivotal movement if prolonged passes the top and bottom of the door frame ex ternally thereof.

Another object is to provide a hinge of the character above mentioned embodying means facilitating .vertical and lateral adjustment of 20 the door, means susceptible to bending for providing angular adjustment of the door andwhich offers no interference with the glass run.

Other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent as reference is had to the accompanying drawing wherein my invention is illustrated, and in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of an automobil having doors hung with the present hinge,

Figs, 2 and 3 are sections taken respectively on thelines22 and3-3ofFig.l,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hinge,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hinge illustrating the use of dual hinge pins, and,

Fig. 6 is a section illustrating a modification of the hinge construction. v

More particularly, i indicates an automobile body having side walls of curved section and which converge upwardly. A plurality of doors are hung in door openings in the body, the hinge 40 assembly in each case being identical as far as the principle of operation is concerned. The hinge for the right front door is interchangeable with the hinge of the left rear door, and the hinge of the left front door is interchangeable with the hinge of the rear right door. The hinge for supporting the right front door 2 is described hereinafter by way of example. a

A hinge member 3 is secured to the door pillar 4 at or near the trim line I, preferably immediately below, and a second hinge member 0 is pivotally attached to the hinge member 3 by a pin I. The second hinge member 0 is attached to the edge of the door 2 which is curved to correspond to the curvature of the body I, and in-- to clined generally to correspond to the converging condition of the body side walls.

The hinge is of the concealed type, which is to say it is not visible either from the interior or from the exterior of the vehicle when the door I is closed. In appearance, the hinge is somewhat larger than a conventional automobile hinge and resembles two joined alined hinges in some respects. These are, however, very essential differences.

The hinge member 3 is composed of a flat or plate-like main portion having a plurality of holes 8 therethrough for the reception of screws 9 which extend through over-size openings ID in the pillar l and engage screwthreaded openings in a floating anchoring plate II. Along one edge of the main portion 3 are widely separated cylindrical pintle receiving portions I2 and a relatively long cylindrical pintle receiving portion I3, all of which preferably are formed from the same piece of stock as the plate portion 3. The axes of the three cylinders I2 and I3 are alined.

The other hinge member 6 is generally of U- shape in endwise view, with the branch I 4 disposed at an angle greater than 90 relative to the plate portion 6. The branch I! is integrally united with the branch Il and extends substantially perpendicular thereto with its upper edge I8 spaced a greater distance from the plate portion than is the lower edge I9.

There are two coplanar spaced branches II and two coplanar spaced branches I I, the spacing in both cases being approximately equal to or slightly greater than the length of the cylindrical portion I3. Each branch I! terminates in cylindrical pintle receiving portions 20 spaced for interfitting with the cylindrical pintle receiving portions I2 and I3, and the plate'portion 6 has holes 2I' therethrough receiving fastening el ments 22 for securing the hinge to the door 2 As may be seen in Fig. 2 the axis A of the hinge pintle is inclined to the vertical, it being disposed whereby it extends inwardly of the vehicle body as it extends upwardly. As viewed in Fig. 1, the axis A is inclined forwardly as it extends upwardly, whereas the plate portion 5, to which the door is attached is substantially vertical. The result of this compound angularity of the axis A is that the door 2 when swung about the axis A travels in a substantially horizontal arc. The are is not truly horizontal, however, for it is desired that it will be disposed at a slight angle to the horizontal in order that gravity tends to bias closing movement of the door.

In thehinge above described a singlehinge pin 1 is used. Fig. 5 illustrates, however, that the cylindrical pintle receiving cylinder I3 may be dispensed with in some cases, andvtwo sepaand transverse adjustments are provided for by the use of' shims 25.

The modified hinge is identical to the hinge above described with the exception of the shape of the branch portions, which instead of being generally of U-shape are altered in shape to permit attachment to the side of the door rather plate 26 is secured to the edge of the pillar la to close the mouth of the recess with the exception of that part necessary to permit swinging movement of the branches Ila. The plate 26 is provided for thesake of a pleasing appearance, and also to prevent as much as possible the insertion of anything which might interfere with operation of the hinge.

Fig. 6 also discloses the use of rubber cushioning means for limiting swinging movement of the door, which means eliminates the necessity of providing the usual door check. A plurality of rubber buttons, such as the one shown at 21, engage a shoulder 28 on the door pillar to check swinging movement of the door.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention, and such changes are contemplated.

What is claimed is: v

1'. A concealed hinge for supporting a door from a door pillar in an automobile body having an inclined wall, said hinge comprising a plate member for attachment to the pillar, a pintle carried by said plate member disposed at an angle to the vertical as viewed in a transverse section through said wall, said plate member also supporting said pintle with its axis at an angle to the vertical as viewed in side elevation,

1 an arm member connectedv to said pintle and adapted for attachment to a door, the axis of said pintle being inclined with respect to the adjacent edge of the door to the extent that said door swings through a substantially horizontal arc during opening and closing movements i. thereof.

2. A concealed hinge for supporting a door from a door pillar in an automobile body having an inclined wall, said hinge comprising a plate member for attachment to the pillar; a pintlecarried by said plate member disposed at an angle to the vertical as viewed in a transverse section through said wall, said plate member also supporting said pintle with its axis at an angle to the vertical as viewed in side elevation, an arm member connected to said pintle and adapted for attachment to a door, the axis of said pintle being inclined with respect to the adjacent edge of the door to the extent that said door swings through a substantially horizontal arc during opening and closing movements thereof, said arc departing from the horizontal only in an amount enabling gravity to bias movement of the door toward a closed position.

3. A concealed hinge adapted to support a curved door on a curved automobile door pillar comprising a hinge plate having hinge pin receiving sockets formed in one edge thereof and adapted for mounting on the door pillar in such manner that the axis of said sockets inclines inwardly of the automobile body and also rearwardly thereof with respect to the adjacent door edge, a hinge pin, a gooseneck hinge means of generally U shape having hinge pin receiving sockets along one edge thereof for attachment to the first named sockets by said hinge pin, the U shape of said gooseneck member varying in length of its branch and in divergence from top to bottom thereof by an amount suflicient to substantially compensate the inclination of said hinge pin .whereby'a door carried by said gooseneck hinge means swings through a substantially horizontal are.

4. Means adapted to support the door of an automobile body curved in transverse section comprising a concealed hinge, said concealed hinge comprising a hingle plate, a, gooseneck type 10 hinge member of substantial curvature connected directly to said hinge plate, the axis of the connection being at .an inclination to the vertical as required by the curvature of the automobile body, said hinge member varying the extent of its curvature from top to bottom thereof in an amount sufficient to substantially compensate the inclination of said axis whereby a door carried by said hinge member swings 

